Two events will have Bucks music scene buzzing

Andy Vineberg @ADVineberg

Friday

Feb 22, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 22, 2013 at 12:15 AM

A pair of hot music events — one featuring an old face launching an ambitious new project, the other marking the official return of a longtime Lower Bucks favorite — should have two area venues hopping Saturday night.

At John and Peter’s in New Hope, veteran funk guitarist TJ Tindall, whose long list of collaborators includes everyone from the Four Tops to Bonnie Raitt to the Jacksons, debuts TJ Tindall’s East Coast, an all-star collection of local, regional and national musicians.

And at the Terchon VFW in Levittown, Barfly, which entertained area music lovers from the mid-1970s through mid-’80s with its anything-goes, occasionally goofy stage antics, will play its first full-length show in nearly 30 years. (The reunited band did perform at a cancer benefit Feb. 10.)

TJ Tindall’s East Coast

After playing on more than 35 gold and platinum records and being an integral part of the Philadelphia funk scene, TJ Tindall thought his music career was finished.

“I had retired,” says Tindall, a Trenton native and longtime New Hope resident now living in Lawrenceville.

It was the late Danny DeGennaro who lured Tindall back to playing live music. Tindall performed at a benefit for DeGennaro’s mom in early 2011, rekindling an old friendship. The two began playing regularly around the area.

In December 2011, the night before Tindall and DeGennaro were scheduled to meet with associates of the Neville Brothers in New York City, DeGennaro was shot and killed in his Bristol Township home.

Fourteen months later, Tindall is fronting a project unlike any Bucks County has seen — a 15-piece (at least) lineup of musicians with long, impressive résumés.

“This all started because of Danny,” Tindall says. “He was totally the inspiration for this whole thing. Hopefully, he’s somewhere where he can appreciate we didn’t quit.”

The lineup includes guitarists Tindall and Jim Mahoney (Robert Palmer), Rock and Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Mike Hampton of Parliament-Funkadelic, Charlie and Richie Ingui of the Soul Survivors (“Expressway to Your Heart”), Daryl Dixon and the Chops Horns (Stevie Wonder, Sting), as well as three area musicians who have all achieved national success — drummer Steve Shive, keyboardist Glenn McClelland and bassist Gary “Bubba” Balduzzi. Additional vocalists include Brooke Shive, Earl Scooter and Jessie Teich, a powerhouse young blues singer Tindall is particularly excited about.

“We’ve got hall of famers, Grammy winners, lots of gold records,” Tindall says. “What’s really interesting is if we were in our 20s, this never would have worked. Everybody was so full of themselves. Now, we’re just happy to be playing together. There’s no ego things involved.”

The set will consist of Tindall and Mahoney originals, as well as funk and R&B classics from acts such as the O’Jays and Teddy Pendergrass that featured some of these musicians. Hampton’s signature guitar song, “Maggot Brain,” will also likely be performed.

“It’s not like we’re doing covers,” Tindall says. “My feeling is we have the right to do these songs because we played on the originals.”

Tindall hopes to turn his East Coast into a full-time project, with a core group of regulars augmented by various guests, depending on availability. He believes there could be a strong market overseas.

He decided to launch the project at the 150-capacity John & Peter’s because it’s a venue where he feels at home, although the scene could get pretty wild in such a small place.

“I didn’t think much about size. I just wanted it to be where I was comfortable,” Tindall says. “(Owner) John (Larsen) has always been very supportive. It seemed like a logical place. But it could get pretty crazy.”

Barfly

Guitarist Joe Borghi has been a part of every iteration of Barfly, and even he can’t tell you everyone who’s been in the band.

“I’m the only guy who was with the band from the first note to the last, and sometimes I’ll see pictures of the band and not remember who a certain guy was,” he says. “So many people have been in and out of the band. I think everyone who ever picked up a guitar, drum or keyboard in Lower Bucks County was a member of Barfly at one point or another.”

It was that sense of community — among both the musicians and the crowds — that helped make Barfly one of the area’s most popular bar bands for more than a decade.

“It was more like a rolling party than a band,” Borghi says. “Whoever came to the house and could play could get up onstage and jam. It was pretty loose and pretty easy; everyone felt like part of the show.”

The reunited lineup — which never actually played together at the same time before Feb. 10 — features founding members Borghi and Leon Reddell, near-original member Doug Avery and later members Johnny Betz, Randy Corradetti and Bernie Powers. The six have been rehearsing since last summer.

Barfly started out as just Borghi and Reddell on acoustic guitar, although they didn’t actually set out to form a band.

“I was living in Leon’s basement (in Bristol). We were sitting around his living room and we ran out of beer,” Borghi recalls. “A friend of mine owned the Talk of the Town (now the Eagles Nest on Route 13), and we went down there for free drinks. Next thing you know, we started getting booked, one thing led to another and here we are today.”

Bassist Avery joined the duo soon after because he had a van and could help them move the equipment.

Borghi doesn’t think the reunited Barfly will play regular gigs, but he could see this lineup performing benefits in the area. The guys are certainly enjoying playing together again.

“When Doug Avery called me during the summer and asked if I would do it, I jumped at the chance,” Borghi says. “Just to hang out with guys with a shared history is great. Now that we’re a little older, it’s nice to get together, do some reminiscing and tell some old war stories — at least the ones we can remember.”

TJ Tindall’s East Coast will perform Saturday at John and Peter’s at 96 S. Main St. in New Hope. Show time: 9:30 p.m. Admission: $15. Information: 215-862-5981.

Barfly will perform Saturday at the Terchon VFW at 1415 Hardy St. in Levittown. Show time: 9 p.m. Admission: free. Information: 215-943-5898.

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